Internal-combustion engine



Jan. 2l

G. B. MYERS.

INTERNAL coMBUsTloN ENGINE Filed Jan. 26, 192'? 4 Sheets-Sheet me/nto@ feng@ Mug/e704.

Jan. 22, 1929.

G. VB. MYERS INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE Filed Jan. 26, 1927 HU o 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 V G. B. MYERS INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE Filed Jan. 26, 1927 4 sheets-sheet 5 athena/w14 Hmm v22 1929. 1,699,803

G. B. MYERS INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE Filed Jan. 26, 1927 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 me/nto@ ranma im, aa, reza.

i S T E GEORGE B. MYERS, OF "i DITERNAL-COMBUSTION IEIN'GiIII'IELl Applicaticnled January 26, 1927. Serial No. $3,668.

This invention relates to improvements in the construction ofinternal combustion engines of the type employed in connection with automobiles. It is obvious that theideal motor is one that will deliver a uniform torque to the drive shaft. This is only attained, however, in electric motors and turbines of various kinds. le In motors and engines that employ recip- 4rocating pistons which are attached to crank pins by means of connecting rods, the rotative eii'ect on the crank shaft is very irregular due to several causes, such as the varial5 tions in the pressure on the piston at different parts of' the stroke; the weights and the velocities of the reciprocating parts whichV absorb a large amount of the power during the period of acceleration and redelivers it as they are brought to rest and the variations in the torque due to the angular position of Ethe connecting rods. It is well understood that every reciprocating engine employing a crank shaft to the crankpin of which the piston is connected by meansv of a connecting rod, has two points, known as dead center positions, in which no tangentialcomponent is present. `These points are found at the extreme ends of the stroke. When the crank' pin occupies positions -ninety degrees removed from the dead center positions, a given force actingA on the piston will give the maximum tangential pressure on the crank pin. This is strictly true only if we consider that the'connectingrod is of infinite length and for connecting rods of ordinary length the maximum tangential pressure is obtained at positions that vary from the ninety degree position.` The above general remarks are intended-merely to more clearly bring out the advantages of applicants conl struction and are'not intended for 'a complete explanation of the problem of twisting movement on crank shafts of reciprocatlng engines. The ordinary four-cylinder, fourcycleA internal combustion engine delivers only two power impulses to the crank shaft during each revolution and therefore requires the use ci a heavy hy wheel to smoothen out the irregular torque edort.

lit is the object of this invention to produce 4 an internal combustion` engine in which the lisnal cranks and connecting rods are dispensed with and in which the power generated by the reciprocating pistons is transmitted to the drive'shaft and-converted into rotary motion, one direction, by means of a'rack and, p1n1on rmechanism` in which the pinion 1s mounted on the drive 'shaft and connected with it by "means of al ratchet mechanism that permits the pinion and shaft to have relative. rotation in one direction, but not in the other. When the pistons move in one direction, by power derived from the explosive charge, they `will rotate the 'shaft 65 and reciprocate the other pistons during the exhaust, intake and the compression strokes. In this way, the force exerted by the expandf ing gases will be converted into a twisting moment which is dinectly proportional lto the force at every position of the piston. By this construction a more uniform torque is obtained than when a crank shaft and 'con-- necting rods are used.

This invention can be most clearly de- 75 scribed and will be most readily understood when reference is had to the accompanying drawings in which the preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and in which: y Fig. l is a front elevation of the engine showing the same in assembled condition;

Fig. 2 is a/side elevation of the engine, a portion of the side wall being broken away to more clearly disclose the construction;

Fig. 3 is a transverse section taken on line 3 3, Fig. 2;

Figi 4 is a view taken along `plane 4 4, Fig. 3, and shows a portion of the mechanism; and

F F ig. 5 is a section taken on line 5 5,

My improved engine consists of a cylinder Vblock 1 having sides 2 which extend downwardly from each side and end thereof, and a5 which are provided with outwardly extendingr lia-nges 3.. A pan 4 is also provided with `a flange 5 which is adapted to t against the outer surfaceV of liange 3 and is secured tothe latter by bolts 6. When the panY 4 A10o is in place, it cooperates with the walls 2 to form a chamber through whichv the main shaft 7 extends and which contains the greater number of the movable parts. The cylinder block is provided with eight cylin- V drical chambers 8, four of which are located on each side of a vertical plane passing through the axis of the shaft 7 (Fig. 3) The cylindrical "chambers on each side are identical in size with the corresponding cylin- 11o i drical openings on the other side and form four pairs of parallel cylinders in which the cylinders of each air are in axial alignment. The walls"9 of tie cylinders are partiall surrounded by a water packet 10 throu which the cooling water is circulated, t e group of cylinders on each side having a separate distinct water jacket .from the group on the other side. Cored cylinder heads 11 are secured to the sides of the cylinnected by a bar 18 and therefore reciprocate as a unit. In the engine, as illustrated, there .are four of these piston units and there may be six or any other even number of duplex piston units, as the engine is made up of several identical groups, each of which has four cylinders forming two pairs of aligned cylinders. In the engine illustrated, there are two suchgrou s which is the equivalent of an eight-cylin er engine. As the mechanism and parts of each group are identical, one group only will be described. The inner surface of `each cylinder head is provided at the end of each cylinder with a depression 19 into which the heads of the poppet valves 20 extend, one intake and one exhaust valve being provided for each cylinder. The

valves shown in Fig. 3 are exhaust valves and serve to connect the interior of the cylinders with the interior of the exhaust manifold 21. Valve springs 22 serve to hold the valves in closed position, The valves are opened at certain times in each cycle by the cams 23 which engage valve tappets 24. The

cam shafts are rotated from Vthe drive shaft 7 by means of suitable gears and the cams open and close the valves in regular sequence. As the valve mechanism is identical with that employed in internal combustion engines of ordinar construction and only such changes have een made as will adapt them to this particular construction, no further detailed description will be given. The four cylinders and pistons of each group correspond to the four cylinders and plstons 'of the ordinary four-cycle, four cylinder engine and charge, compress, fire and exhaust in a predetermined order. The shaft 7 takes the place of the crank shaft of the ordinary engine and has been shown as journaled in three spaced bearings 25, 26 and 27, bearing 26, being the center bearing. Secured to shaft 7 are two ratchet members, one of which is shown in section in Figs. 2 and 3. the other being located on the other side of the hub 29 of the cam member.

gears 38 an These ratchet members are held against rotation by means of keys 30 andare each rovided 4with several cut-outs 31, whose ottoms are flat and are formed by portions of chord planes. metrical with respect to a radial plane 'bisecting the chord that corresponds in position with the plane of the bottoms and have the greater. portions lying to the same side of this perpendicular bisector. In the illustration given, the cut outs have their major portions extending in a clockwise direction These cut outs are 'unsymfrom the center point of the chord. The

flatrbottoms 32 of the cut outs terminate in end walls 33 and 34 that are substantially radial. Within each cut out are two cylindrical steelrollers 35. The ends of the cam members 28 are reduced in' diameter so as to form cylindrical extensions 36, to which .are secured the ball bearings 37. Enclosing each ratchet member 28 are two gears 38. These gears are identical vin size and shape and are provided on their` adjacent surfaces with a circular recess whose depth is equal to one-half of the width of the ratchet member 28 and whose diameters are equal to the outside diameter of the same ratchet member. When the gears are in place, they form an enclosing housing for the ratclietfmember and are rotatable with respect to it. The endsA of hub 29 and ends of the bearings 25 and 26 hold the gears 38 against longitudinal movement. It is apparent that the gears 38 can rotate about the ratchet mem;

. ber 28 in a counter clockwise direction (Fig.

3), but not in the opposite direction for as soon as an attempt is-made to rotate the' gears in a clockwise direction, one or more of the rollers 35 will roll along planes 32 and outwardly towards the interior wall of the recess in the gear wheel and therefore, when the gears are turned in a clockwise direction they will rotate the shaft 7.

Secured to theflattened central art of the Vbar 18 of each piston unit is a yo e member comprising an arm 39 whose upper end is flanged and provided with openings for the reception of the bolts 40. These arms are integral with the upper rack bar 41 of the yoke. This bar is provided on its lower sur- `face with gear teeth 42, which are adapted to engage the teeth of and cooperate with `one of the gear wheels 38. The opposite ends of bar 51 are joined to the correspondingends of the rack bar 43 by means of connecting members 44 and 45. Rack bar 43 is not located in the same vertical plane as bar 41, but is offset and engages the lower4 side of the other gear 38 of the same pair.

It will now be evident that when the pistons 15 move axially, they carry with them the arm 39 and rack bars 41 and 43 and thereby rotate the gears 38. Since rack bar 41 engages the upper side of one of the rack bar 43 the under side of the other gear of this pair, these gears will rotate in opposite directions and con? sequent-ly one of them will always rotate clockwise .and will therefore impart a correspending rotation to shaft 7 Secured to theY other pair of pistons is another yoke piece that is a duplicate ofv the one described andwhose rack 4bars 41V and' 43 cooperate with the other pair of gears 38. The ends of these two yoke members are connected by means of bolts and form in effect a rigid unitary structure having two arms 39 and four rack bars which engage the four gears 38.' A. steel plate 47 is secured underneath the cylinder block on each side of the longitudinal central plane and a corresponding plate 48 is secured to the upper surface of the ends of the yoke members; Plates 47 and, 48 form guides that resist the forces which tend to distortY the Varms 39 when the engine is pro- I ducing power.

From the above description it is evident that ifithe cams 23 are so adjusted and so connected to the drive shaft that the four cylinders oir' the group will charge, compress, fire and exhaust in a regular predetermined sequence analogous to that of any other four cycle engine, the order of firing alternating from one) side of the central' longitudinal plane to the other that shaft. 7 will be rotated in a clockwise direction (Fig. 3).

ln engines having cranks and connecting rods, the length of the stroke is positively determined by the diameter of the circle traveled by the crank pin. y The apparatus as far as it has been described has nothing to determine the length of the stroke, which, however, is essential. Means have, however, been provided for this purpose and this will now be described in detail.

Referring now moreparticularly to Figs. 4 and 5 where the yokes and associated parts have been shown apart from, the engine structure, it will be observed that the hub 29 carries three cam members 49each of which has a tip or point 50 and which are .l

symmetrical with respect to a line joining the tip with the center line ot shaft 7. Clamped in place between the end members 44 and 45 lare socket members 5l, which are provided with a noncircular opening 52 and a smaller axial circular opening 53. A plunger 54 has two parallel arms g 55 between which is journaleda roller 56. The plunger 54 has a cylindrical extension 57 that extends out through the opening 53. A coiled spring 58 is under compression and tends lto move the roller inwardly againstv the cam faces. The cams are secured to the shaft andlare so positioned that at'the end of each stroke they occupy a positionflike that shown in Fig. 5 whiclrrepresents the ,eX- treme right hand position of theyokes and Adotted lines in Figure 1. A

the pistons to whichl 'they are attached. When thev parts have reached the piston shown in Fig. 3, the charge in one of the cylinders on the righthand side is ignited and the yoke members begin moving towards the left. lf there should be a premature ignition of the charge, the roller 55 would not yet have reached the point of the cam and therefore any movement towards the lei't would be prevented for the reason that the shaft can rotate only in one direction. The yokes can, therefore, not reverse their direction of travel until the parts have assumed a position substantially like that shown in Fig. 5. Since there are three cam members 49, one stroke must rotate' the shaft one-sixth of a revolution. .The springs 58 serve to hold the rollers against the surfaces of the cams. at all times and therefore prevent noise. f

The movable parts are lubricated by means of a forced lubricating system comprising an oil ump 59 which is rotated from the main shait through the medium of a train of gears in the' manner indicated by tends from the intake port of t e oil pump and into the interior of the pan 4 where another pipe 6l connects it withthe strainer 62. Oil may be stored in the pan 4 to any depth desired. When the pump is in operation, the,oil is carried upwardly through p pipe 60 and deliveredV to the oil pump. From the delivery port of the oil pump, pipes 63 and 64 extend to the top of the engine where they connect with the branched nozzles 65 (Fig. 3) from which thc oil emerges inaI spray directly over each of the valves there being a nozzle 65 for every inlet and outlet valve, Each cylinder wall is provided with two openings 66 through which the oil may iiow to the interior of ipe 60 ex-v `ica the cylinder. As the pistons reciprocate, l

oil is cau ht in the helical groove 17 anddistribute evenly over the cylinder surface. The vexcess of oil Hows downwardly over the gearsand cams and is finally deposited in the bottom oi pan 4, where it is ready to begin another'cycle. rllhe main bearings are lubricated b oil provided through pump 59. Pipe. 6 extends from the delivery port of the pump to a branched coupling 68, rom which pipes extend to the main bearings. ln ligure '2, two of these pipes have been shown and have.. been numbered respectively, 69' and 70. From Figure 2 it will be apparent that the oil that is rforced into the main shaft bearings will divide andpart will flow inwardly yto the ratchet members 2 8, Vtherebyproducing a l* thorough and reliable lubrication oit all the moving surfaces.

Forfthe purpose of circulating the cool-V ingwater', l have provided a water pump 7]. that is connected to the lower endgof an orfnally emerges through dinary automobile radiator by means of tubes 72. `The water is delivered tothe Water jacket spaces 'in the engine block and the tubes 73 from which it returns to t e radiator. T he exhaust orts have been designated by numeral 21 an extend to a suitable exhaust pipe not shown. The intake ports are connected by means of a manifold 74 and pipes 75 with an ordinary carburetorwhich has been indicated by numeral 76. As there is nothing new about the carburetor or `the manifolds, these will not be described invdetail.

For the purpose of providing ignition current I have shown the engine equipped with a standard ignition device and distributer. The magneto being designated by numeral 77, while the distributer is designated by numeral 78. From the distributer high tension wires 79 extend to the various spark --'plugs 80, and as the engine operates high tensionJ current is directed in a predetermined sequence to the various cylinders. As indicated above, the ignition system is merely an adaptation of an old and well known system-used extensively for this purpose and has merely b`een shown for the purpose of more clearl illustrating the construction and operation of the engine.

In Figure l I have also shown thea-'entilating fan, which has been designated as a whole by numeral 81.

From the above descri tion it would be apparent that I have ma e a radical depareol ture in the construction of internal combustion engines. The distinguishing feature of this engine .is that I have dispensed with the cranks and connecting rods thatare employed almost universally in en ines of this type, and have substituted or these 'a mechanism by meansof which the reciproeating motion of the piston is converted into rotary motion in one direction. I have also provided my engine with 'means for positively determiningthe length .ofthe stroke and for preventing .a reverse movement of the istons before the end of the stroke is reac ed., With my improved engine, there is no dangerof backiring, as the crank shaft can rotate in one direction only, and if a force is a plied which tends `to rotate the shaft inV t e opposite direction, this will be resisted by the action of the cams 49 and the rollers 56.

As intimated above, this. engine comprises one or more groups of duplicate parts, each of which groups is complete in itself and forms a four-cycle, four cylinder engine. These groups can be assembled so as to operate on the same shaft and an engine can therefore be readily built which corresponds,

to a four-cycle engine having any number o of groups or units.

Having described the invention what is claimed as new 1s: Y

l. An internal combustion engine comprising a cylinder block having a plurality of pairs of longitudinally spaced axially alignedcylinders, a piston slidably mounted in each cylinder, means for rigidly connecting the pistons whereby they will reciprocate asa unit, a shaft having its axis in a plane parallel with a plane containing the axes of the pistons, the axis of the shaft extending in a line perpendicular to the direction of the axes of the pistons, means for connecting the pistons to the shaft, said means comprising a pair of gear wheels each of said wheels being adapted to be intermittently secured to the shaft, aratchet mechanism interposed between each gear and the shaft for preventing relative rotation of the shaft and the gears in one direction while permitting relative rotation in the other direction, two racks carried by each group of interconnected pistons, said racks enclosinfr the shaft and each rack engaging a different gear wheel whereby the shaft will be rotated in the same direction whenever the pistons reciprocate and means for preventing the pistons from reversing the direction of travel before they have reached the end of the stroke, said last named means comprising a cam member carried by the shaft and cam engaging rollers carried by the rackl members.

2. An internal combustion engine comprising, in combination, an engine lblock having four cylinders formin two pairs, the cylinders of each pair eing longitudinally spaced and axially aligned, a pair of opposed rigidly connected pistons slidably associated with each pair of cylinders, means for interconnecting the pistons so as to form a group, a shaft mounted for rotation in a plane spaced from and parallel to the common plane of the axes of the pistons and about an axis perpendicular to the-direction of reciprocation of the pistons, two spaced parallel racks connected with each air of aligned pistons, one rack of each pair eing located on each side of the shaft, two pairs of gear wheels, eachfof said wheels being adapted to be intermittently sed cured to the shaft by means of a ratchet mechanism, one rack of each pair cooperating with one gear of each pair whereby the :gears of each pair will be rotated in opposite directions whenever the pistons reciprocate and means for preventing the pistons from reversing their direction of movement before the end of the stroke has been reached.

3. An internal combustion engine comprising, in combination, an engine block having four cylinders forming two parallel pairs, the cylinders of each pair being longitudinally spaced and axially aligned, a pair of opposed rigidl connected pistons slidably asl (lll sociated. wit eachpair of cylinders, a shaft mounted for rotatlon in la plane parallel to the common plane of the axes of the pistons iso spaced parallel racks connected with each pair of aligned pistons, means for .rigidly interconnecting the two pairs of racks, the racks of each pair being located on opposite sides of the shaft, two pairs of gear wheels secured to the shaft by means of a ratchet mechanism, one rack of each pair cooperating with one gear of each pair, whereby the gears of each pair will be rotated in oppoV site directions whenever the pistons recip-v rocate and means for preventing the pistons from reversing their direction of movement before the end of the stroke has been reached,

said last named means comprising a cam rigidly secured to the shaft and rollers carried by the rack members.

4. An internal combustion engine comprising, in combination, four pistons forming two pairs, each pair consisting of two axially aligned pistons arranged in opposed relation, the pistons of each pair being parallel, means for interconnecting the two pairs so as to form a group that moves as a unit, a shaft located to one side of said pisy tons, means for supporting the shaft so that it may rotate about an axis perpendicular toV the axes of the pistons and which liesin a plane spaced vfrom and parallel with a plane that contains the axes or the pistons, a cylinder block having cylindrical openings in which the pistons may reciprocate in the direction of their axes, means for converting the reciprocating motion of the pistons into a rotary motion of the shaft, said means comprising two gear wheels, each of said wheels being adapted to be intermittently secured to the shaft by'means comprising a ratchet mechanism that permits each wheel to rotate freely about the shaft in one direction but which prevents it from rotating relative to the shaft in the 'opposite direction, two racks carried by the piston group, said racks enclosing the shaft, one rack engaging each gear wheel whereby when the pistons are reciprocated the shaft will be rotated and means comprising cams carried by the shaft for determining the length of the stroke of the pistons. ,c

5. An internal combustion engine comprising, in combination, four pistons forming two pairs, each pair consisting of two axially aligned pistons arranged in opposed relation, the pistons of each pair being pari allel, means for interconnecting the two' pairs so as to form a group that moves as a unit, a shaft located to one side ofsaid pistons, means for supporting the shaft so that it may rotate about an axis perpendicular to the axes of the pistons and which lies in a plane spaced from and arallel with a plane that contains the axes. o the pistons, a cylinder block having cylindrical openings in which the pistons may reciprocate in the direction of their axes, means for converting the reciprocating motion-,of the pistons into a rotary motion of the shaft, said means comprising af ratchet mechanism thatpermits each wheel to rotate freely about the shaft in one direction but which prevents it from rotating relative to the shaft in the opposite direction, two racks carried by the piston group, said racks enclosing the shaft, one rack engaging each gear wheel whereby,

when the pistons are reciprocated the shaft will be rotated, means comprising cams carried by the shaft for determining the length of the stroke ofthe pistons and for preventing the pistons from reversing their direction of travel before the stroke has been completed said meanscomprising a cam carried by the shaft and cooperating cam engaging means carried by the racks. t

In testimony whereof I afix my signature.

GEORGE B. `MYERS. 

